


Laughing at a Funeral

by ethan_green



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, StarKid Productions RPF
Genre: Angst, Autistic Hannah Foster, Canon Autistic Character, Crying, Death, F/M, Fluff, Funerals, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Ethan Green, Other, parental adults
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23027458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ethan_green/pseuds/ethan_green
Summary: The funeral for all the Black Friday victims happened on December  7, 2019
Relationships: Becky Barnes/Tom Houston, Ethan Green & Becky Barnes, Ethan Green & Tom Houston, Hannah Foster & Ethan Green, Hannah Foster & Lex Foster, Lex Foster & Ethan Green, Lex Foster & John McNamara, Lex Foster & Xander Lee, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, Xander Lee/John McNamara
Comments: 14
Kudos: 155





	1. Chapter 1

The funeral for the victims of Black Friday was held on December 7, 2019. A final farewell, a way to celebrate the lives of those lost.

Lex cried that morning as she got ready. She put on a pair of dress pants and a nice top with her old jean jacket. She brushed out her hair so it was soft and fluffy. Her necklace, a cursive  _ E  _ on a silver chain, hung around her neck. Ethan’s favourite outfit. They always said it was the version of her they imagined when they thought about California. They always said the sweetest things.

John MacNamera and his husband, Xander, had been kind enough to take her and Hannah in after the awful event, so Lex at the very least had a home to go to after the funeral, but did it matter? Ethan, one of the only two people Lex had ever loved, was dead. And she was about to go watch them be buried.

Hannah came into the room, hugging her silently. She hadn’t spoken, not since that day, and Lex couldn’t blame her. She had watched Ethan die, watched them get beaten bloody, until they stopped moving. She was dressed in a nice black dress, the one she and Xander had picked out from a store yesterday, and her favourite oversized yellow flannel. One of Ethan’s, leant to her to “protect” her from the engine of their old jalopy. They’d never protect her again.

“Ready, Banana?” she asked, in the most cheerful voice she could muster.

Hannah nodded, chewing her chewy necklace. That was as good of an answer as she was going to get, so Lex grabbed the bundle of wildflowers they'd chosen and pulled her sister downstairs.

Xander and John were dressed in matching black suits. Both looked solomon. 

“There’s going to be a few quick speeches, but you don’t have to listen to them. Ethan’s grave might…” John paused. “Be marked wrong.”

Lex nodded, sniffing. “Even in death, they still gotta deal with fucking transphobia?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Xander said. “Come on, let’s get going.”

The car ride was quick and silent. Hannah slid her hand into Lex’s and she squeezed it comfortingly. Ethan was dead. Ethan was being buried. Ethan’s body was in one of the caskets.

The cemetery was had a big grey slab, with every victim's name etched in. Lex put down the flowers in front of it, trying not to cry. She noticed her mom’s name, Frank’s name, and even Sherman’s name before she got to the bottom. She read it again. And again. And again.

“Ethan’s name isn’t here,” she growled. “They fucking forgot them?”

“What?” Xander joined her, scanning the wall. “That’s impossible, it was checked by everyone. No one wanted to forget anyone.” He searched it again. "John, get over here."

Then Hannah shrieked.


	2. Chapter 2

Ethan didn’t want to go to the funeral. Lex was dead, Hannah was dead, what was the point of going to watch them being buried? 

Lex never wanted to be buried. She told them, smoke curling out of her mouth as they shared a cigarette outside Toy Zone. She wanted to be burned, turned to ash, and have her ashes dumped in the Pacific Ocean. Ethan had promised to do it, not thinking they’d have to think of that for at least thirty years. 

But here they were. Thinking about it. Nineteen. Nineteen was too young to die. Lex was too young. Hannah, only ten, was even younger. Just a baby, really. 

“Ethan?” Becky called, knocking on their door gently. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Becky and Tom found them in the movie theatre, brought them home and helped them. Their head was mostly healed, and the bruises were fading. The pain in their heart wasn’t so kind.

They were dressed in a black shirt and a green plaid skirt. They clipped their necklace around their throat. A cursive  _ L  _ dangling from a silver chain. Lex had the matching one. Ethan hoped she’d be buried with it.

Tom was fixing Tim’s tie when Ethan came into the living room. Despite themself, they liked Tim. He was a nice kid, quiet, but nice. 

“How you feeling, Ethan?” Tim’s aunt, Emma, asked. She was nice too, but rough. If Ethan hadn’t been so insistant on being alone, they knew they’d probably get along with Emma, and her boyfriend, Paul.

Ethan shrugged. “I’m going to bury my girlfriend and my little sister. I’m feeling about as good as you could expect.”

Becky squeezed their shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”

They packed into two car, Becky, Tom, Tim, and Ethan in one, and Emma and Paul in the other. Tim held a bundle of roses, and passed two to Ethan.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Thanks.” Ethan said.

The cemetery was busy, but it felt like it should be busier. A lot of people had died. 

“If you need you leave, you tell us, okay, E?” Tom said. “It doesn’t matter if I’m in the middle of something, you say the word and we’ll leave.”   


“Thanks, Mr. Houston.”

They wandered around the cemetery. Their mom died in the fighting, thank god, and their dad was nowhere to be seen either. Good fucking riddance.

Lex’s mom was dead too. No one to carry on the Foster name. Hannah loved her mom. Lex didn’t, but Hannah, with her big heart and childish innocence, couldn’t stop. Even when she hit her. And that kid, that sweet little girl who drew Ethan pictures, and practised reading to them, and told them all about Webby, that little girl was dead. Ethan’s breath quickened, tears blurring their vision.

They were about to turn around, to tell Tom they needed to leave, when there was a shriek from behind them.


	3. Chapter 3

“ETHAN!” Hannah shrieked, grabbing onto the leather-clad enby.

“Hannah, Ethan’s not-” Lex turned around, gasping.

“Hannah?” Ethan couldn't believe their eyes. “Lex!”

Lex grabbed them. They were real. 

“I thought you were dead!” they said at the same time.

Tears poured down Ethan’s cheeks as they curled around Hannah. They were alive. They were  _ alive. _

“Where have you been?” they asked.

“Some government agent and his husband,” Lex replied, wiping the tears streaming down her face. “Oh,  _ Ethan. _ ” She threw her arms around their neck. They were together. They were alive. They were  _ alive _ . “We survived the crisis, babe.”

“Yeah,” they kneeled on the ground to give Hannah a better hug. “Banana-Split, I thought I’d lost you.”

Hannah was crying too. “You scared me.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Ethan didn’t even notice as Tom, Becky and Tim came up behind them.   
  
“Lex?”

“Mr. Houston!”

“We thought you were dead!” 

Ethan stood up, Hannah’s legs wrapped around their torso. She muttered. “Good day, good day, Ethan, Ethan, Ethan, Ethan, good, good, good.”

Xander joined them, John in tow.   
  
“General John Macnamara,” he said, shaking Tom and Becky’s hands. “Mighty good to meet you folks.”

“Tom, Tom Houston. This is my son Tim, and this is Becky Barnes.”

“Pleasure. Would you mind if we spoke in private for a moment?”

“Of course,” Becky nodded. The four adults moved towards the empty part of the cemetery.

Thank you for taking care of Ethan,” Xander said. “I’ve never met them, but the girls have been distraught. Hannah hasn’t spoken to anyone in two weeks.”

“They’re a good kid,” Tom said.   
  
“Thank you for looking after Lex and Hannah,” added Becky. “I know Hannah can be… difficult to adjust to.”

“They’ve been wonderful,” John said. “But that’s what I wanted to talk about. Are you prepared to provide a home to Ethan?”

Becky and Tom exchanged a look before nodding. “We are. We’re all a bit attached to them already.”

Xander breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. “We’ve grown quite attached to the girls too. Just yesterday, Lex was telling us how she wanted to get her GDP.”

“That’s great!” Tom exclaimed. “So… it’s settled?”

“We’ll have to ask the kids, but I doubt they’ll protest.”

“Ethan’s seen foster care before,” Becky told them. “They said they’d rather die than go back.”

“Oh, I doubt they’ll say no,” Xander agreed. “But we have to ask. They  _ are _ nineteen, technically.”

Ethan pressed a long kiss to Lex’s lips, making Hannah giggle as the adults returned. 

“Lex, Ethan,” John said. “We were just discussing your housing arrangements.”   


Lex’s eyes shot up, worry filling them again. “We can go to my mom’s old trailer, if we need to.”

“Lex, John and I have loved having you and Hannah. If you’re willing, we’d be glad to have you stay with us.”

“For how long?” Hannah asked.

“As long as you need.”

Lex nodded, clutching onto Ethan as if they’d be torn away from each other again. “What about Ethan?”

“They’re welcome to stay with us,” Becky said.

“I’ve always wanted an older sibling,” Tim piped up, eyes wide.

Ethan nodded too, clutching Hannah to their side. “Thank you, Mr. Houston, Ms. Barnes.”

Lex kissed them again, and their heart fluttered. Nothing had ever gone their way, never. But they must have earned some good karma, because God brought Hannah and Lex back to them.


End file.
